EDUCATORS’ PERSPECTIVE
To Frank Norris
By Emery Pottle
line of WASPs who believed in the racial
superiority of Anglo-Saxons; inferior races
threatened to corrupt this pure race. His
writings clearly reflected the racism that
was prevalent in his day. According to liter-
ary critic Donald Pizer, “Frank Norris’s rac-
ism, which includes one of the most vicious
anti-Semitic portrayals in any major work
of American literature, has long been an
embarrassment to admirers of the vigor
and intensity of his best fiction and has also
contributed to the decline of his reputation
during the past several generations.”
Norris’s 1899 novel, McTeague, contains
a character by the name of Zerkow. Pizer
contends that Norris’s depiction of Zerkow
is largely “responsible for his reputation as
an anti-Semite.” Norris wrote, “Zerkow
was a Polish Jew … It was impossible to
look at Zerkow, and not know instantly
that greed—inordinate, insatiable greed—
was the dominate passion of the man. He
was the Man with the Rake, groping hourly
in the muck-heap of the city for gold, for
gold, for gold.” There is some evidence
that Norris’s racism began to moderate as
he grew older. 2 However, his premature
death cut short his rehabilitation. Pizer
argues, “[Norris’s] anti-Semitism…should
be recognized for what it is, but its pres-
ence should not preclude a continuing
interest in Norris as a richly talented late
19th century American writer.”
Similarly, Norris’s attitude towards
women reflected the general attitude of his
day. In The Pit, Norris describes Jadwin’s
wife’s utter ignorance of her husband’s
futures trading. When he tries to explain why
he bought three million bushels of wheat,
she murmurs, “‘Three—million—bushels!
Why, what would you do with it? Where
do you put it?’” Jadwin tries to explain that
he had only bought the right to buy grain
on a particular date, “…but” writes Norris,
“she could not understand this very clearly.
‘Never mind,’ she told him, ‘go on.’” In The
Pit’s climax, Jadwin’s sister-in-law comes to
the exchange to watch the action. “She had
seen all that had happened, but she had not
understood. The whole morning had been
a whirl and a blur… She was desperately
anxious to find Landry [her fiancé], and to
learn the truth of what had happened…”
The pit was a man’s world where this clue-
less woman, who couldn’t possibly under-
stand without a man to explain it to her, was
bewildered by the frenzied activity.
In spite of Norris’s failings, The Pit
remains relative today because of the
timelessness of its message. Investors still
get caught up in the markets and attribute
their successes to their superior skills,
while dismissing their failures as bad luck.
Norris’s last novel also points to many
issues that still matter today such as:
1. The social consequences of market
actions—As Jadwin drives the price
of wheat higher and higher, farmers—
encouraged by the price increase—plant
more wheat to take advantage of these
higher prices. However, higher wheat
Simple and kind he lived, rich in the gracious dignity
Of labor and of love.
And knowing him our House of Life
More perfect grew, and added to its symmetry
A turret strong and bold —
A battlement within whose high serenity we dwelt
Content, as friends must ever be.
. . . . . So in his death
This splendid masonry of love’s upbuilding
Has crumbled grievously to earth;
Our House of Life, more incomplete than in the days before his coming.
Stands strangely desolate;
Only a bird, full-throated with the melody of hope.
Sings in the empty courtyard.
Portrait of Frank Norris, by Arnold Genthe.
prices lead to higher bread prices, which
has an adverse effect on the poor and
needy.
2. The effects of investment activity on
family and friends—Jadwin neglects his
wife as he becomes caught up in the
wheat corner. After his first speculation
in wheat, he lies to her and tells her he
is out of the market, but his lie soon
becomes apparent as his obsession with
wheat grows. She, in turn, nearly falls
into her own pit of adultery because
of his neglect. Likewise, Jadwin’s friend
Charles Cressler, who doesn’t realize that
Jadwin is the “Unknown Bull” attempting
to corner wheat, agrees to join Crookes’s
group in their attempt to break the wheat
corner after they convince Cressler that
it’s a sure thing. As the price of wheat
continues to rise, Cressler, realizing he
is financially ruined, commits suicide.
Jadwin, on hearing the reason behind
Cressler’s demise, laments, “’He was in
the Crookes ring, and we never knew it—
I’ve killed him, Sam. I might as well have
held that pistol myself.’ He stamped his
foot, striking his fist across his forehead,
“Great God—my best friend—Charlie—
Charlie Cressler! Sam, I shall go mad if
this—if this—”
3. The price of a sure thing—both Jadwin
and Cressler are drawn into market
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